For nearly 20 years now, thousands of gearheads flock to Charlotte Motor Speedway every October for the annual Goodguys Southeastern Nationals. The event which is in it’s 19th year of existence, is known for drawing out some of the most historic, collectable, and rare rides in the east. The rides at every Goodguys events normally have to meet a model year of 1972 or older requirement. However, starting in 2012 Goodguys started holding Super Sundays, where the age requirement was stripped away and every American made ride could be brought for display.

“We were looking for a way to involve younger generations in our events as well as a way to increase the Sunday at-event traffic,” Explained John Drummond of Goodguys. “It has accomplished both of those objectives and was held at 17 of our 21 events in 2012.”

The Super Sunday allows any American made vehicle, regardless of year, to be displayed for all to see.

Beautiful weather and unseasonably warm temperatures rewarded those that brought their rides out to the Southeastern Nationals. So why break out your late model to the Super Sunday? The better question is, why wouldn’t you? Not only do you have a chance to meet fellow car guys and gals, but you also have a couple of opportunities to showcase just what your ride is capable of doing. The first of which is the Super Sunday Autocross which puts man and machine against whoever dares to take to the course to see who can lay down the fastest lap.

Autocross:

Rick Owens and his Richard Childress Racing 2011 Camaro.

One of the more popular events throughout the entire weekend was the autocross. Fans would line the fences to get a chance to see rides get pushed to the max as they tried to set the fastest time around the course in the infield. What might seem like just a simple course in the parking lot of the infield, is actually one of the most revealing tests of any vehicle. The track is designed by the folks at Goodguys to be difficult to maneuver through, hit just one cone and suffer the time penalty.

Those orange cones will reveal the weakness of any ride. Whether it was a lack of traction, too much power, too much body roll, or sometimes even lack of practice behind the wheel, the course would find the weakness. This is why so many fans found it difficult to leave the autocross and see the rest of the show. It’s just to much damn fun seeing all the rides flirt with being out of control.

Paul Bourgeois and son captured why so many people bring their entire families to the Southeastern Nationals turn out for the Goodguys Southeastern Nationals.

Matthews explained to us that the engine and transmission have over 100,000 miles on it and it still out ran the competition by nearly 2 full seconds.

2012 Super Sunday Autocross Results:

Super Sunday Award Winners

The folks at Goodguys combed through the pit area and chose the elite rides at the Super Sunday. These select few were given the Super Sunday Award of Excellence. Out of everyone in attendance, only five rides were handed these awards.

Jon Simmons received a Super Sunday award of excellence for his 2010 Camaro.

We were amazed that Dan Smith's 2009 Dodge Viper was completely bone stock. But it was still good enough to receive the Super Sunday Award.

Mike Belliveau also received an award for his 2011 Dodge Challenger.

Not many would consider a 1980 Malibu worthy of an award, but Junior Cropps beautifully restored Malibu is definitely worth the Super Sunday award he received.

 Complete Super Sunday Award Winners:

Closing Out The Show With A Cruise:

One of the benefits of attending the Super Sunday in Charlotte was the Super Sunday Track Cruise. The cruise would allow those who brought their rides out for the Super Sunday, the opportunity to open them up on the 1.5mile NASCAR oval Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Those who wanted to, could get a ticket from the main gate and drive on the same banking that has seen the greats like Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, and Richard Petty tackle. Cars that we normally could only dream of seeing on the track were given the opportunity to cruise the high banks of Charlotte.

Even though they were probably only going about 50-60MPH, it was refreshing to see not just the Super Sunday cars, but also the classics back where they belong – on the pavement!

A great example of the amount of different rides that were seen during the track cruise.

The track was open not just for the late model vehicles, but also those still in attendance from the Goodguys Southeastern Nationals.

The track cruise was a great way to close out the 19th annual Goodguys Southeastern Nationals. If you have never made it out to the event, next year will make the 20th anniversary of the event and it is shaping up to be bigger than ever. Trust us when we say – you will not want to miss it!